Baird and Clinton talk Keystone, Libya in Washington

The first meeting between Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ended with little in deliverable policy announcements, but plenty of promise for future collaboration.

[start_gallery][end_gallery]Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to speak about the Keystone pipeline and perimeter security when she meets with Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

[start_gallery][end_gallery]These words were on the foreign secretaries' lips. See below for a full transcript.

There were no new revelations about the proposed TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline project. Clinton told reporters at a press conference that the project is still under review, and that the U.S. “is leaving no stone unturned” in the process.

“This includes analysis and assessment of multiple factors as well as reviewing hundreds of thousands of comments that have been received during the public comment period,” she said, reiterating that the State Department aims to have a decision made on whether to approve the project before the end of this year.

The State Department plans to release its final environmental impact statement on the proposed pipeline this month. After that, there will be a 90-day review period where other federal agencies like the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, will weigh in on whether a Presidential permit for the project would be in the national interest. Public meetings in state capitals that will potentially host the pipeline will follow that.

In a report released earlier this summer, the EPA raised concerns over the environmental impacts of the pipeline, and “the level of analysis and information provided concerning those impacts.”

This week, a group of 19 researchers from a number of universities around the U.S. wrote an open letter to President Barack Obama, urging him to not approve the project. They urged Obama not to commit the U.S. to an energy source with such high carbon emissions.

“When other huge oilfields or coal mines were opened in the past, we knew much less about the damage that the carbon they contained would do to the earth’s climate system and to its oceans,” the letter says. “Now that we do know, it’s imperative that we move quickly to alternate forms of energy — and that we leave the tarsands in the ground.”

Tough talk on Libya

As expected, the two ministers also discussed the ongoing unrest in the Middle East, specifically the worsening situation in Syria, where Syrian tanks have recently been shelling demonstrators in Hama.

“We stand united in condemning the Assad regime and backing calls of the Syrian people for true and meaningful reform,” Baird told reporters at a press conference. “The actions of the Assad regime are obviously abhorrent. The way they’ve acted in recent weeks, months, even in the last 48 hours in Hama is absolutely disgraceful.”

However, there were questions as to what more the U.S. and Canada can do to back up their condemnation of the regime’s actions, particularly in contrast with the reaction to a similar situation in Libya.

“Regrettably, we don’t have the same amount of support at the UN for this,” Baird said, noting that Canada and the U.S. will in the meantime have to work aggressively with other like-minded nations. He said that Canada, the U.S., and the UK have agreed to toughen sanctions, and that he and Clinton had “a good discussion” on moving forward.

Somalie famine

The ongoing famine in Somalia was also a topic of discussion Thursday.

Clinton said that the militant Islamist group, al-Shabaab, had deliberately blocked food delivery in an area of southern Somalia, and called on the group to allow “assistance to be delivered in an absolutely unfettered way throughout the area that they currently control.”

During his trip to Washington, Baird also met with Suzan Johnson Cook, the U.S. Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom. After the meeting Wednesday, Baird issued a statement Wednesday denouncing an attack on a Christian church in Iraq. According to Reuters, 16 people were injured Tuesday when a car bomb exploded outside a church in Kirkuk. Police later defused bombs near two other churches in the city.

“Attacks aimed at intimidating specific religious groups are utterly unacceptable,” Baird said. “Canada remains deeply concerned about the plight of the Iraqi minorities, including the Christian community, who are especially vulnerable to violence.”

Clinton and Baird appeared congenial during their press conference on Thursday – Clinton even commented on Baird’s proclivity for tough talk.

“We… are aware of how well known you are for your candor and your ability to cut to the heart of any issue,” she said. “That was most welcome in our meeting today.”

Later in the press conference, after answering a French reporter’s question in English, Baird turned to Clinton and asked, “do you want to do the French answer?” Clinton declined.